And then there were only 2

Redick, Morrison in shootout for top player honors.

Redick, Morrison in shootout for top player honors.

December 15, 2005|MIKE DECOURCY The Sporting News

Last week began with Adam Morrison scoring 43 points for Gonzaga and ended with J.J. Redick bombing in 41 for Duke. Last week began with Redick's Blue Devils winning on a teammate's desperation heave and ended with Morrison's Zags escaping with a victory when he banked in a 3-pointer. Well, get used to that. They will not share the same court during the regular season. They will not even share the same coast. So maybe they will not consent to share the media's attention either. Maybe they will fight for it, just like this. The two best college basketball players identified themselves in the season's first month. No one aside from Morrison or Redick remains a serious contender for the national player of the year awards that will be presented at the end of the season. It could be quite a thrilling competition, except for one difference. One letter, really. ACC ... WCC. The disparity between the Atlantic Coast Conference and the West Coast Conference could tilt voting in Redick's favor. It's not that Morrison cannot dominate high-level competition. Offensively, he's done it at a level no one has approached since Purdue's Glenn Robinson tore through the Big Ten in the 1993-94 season. Morrison racked Michigan State's defense for 43 points in a three-overtime victory at the Maui Invitational, then needed only the regulation 40 minutes to match that total in a narrow loss to Washington. But if Redick continues to produce against the competition he's facing -- with all but three of his team's games nationally televised -- can Morrison keep pace? Known in the past as a catch-and-shoot 3-point sniper, Redick scored 29 points in a road win at Indiana despite connecting on only four 3s. His newfound skill in attacking the goal had Texas' defenders so distracted that Redick was able to step back into hitting 9-of-16 from 3-point range in reaching his career-high 41 points. Redick says, "Anybody would be crazy to say they wouldn't want to be player of the year." He already has one such accolade, though: the Adolph F. Rupp Trophy, presented last April by the Commonwealth Athletic Club of Kentucky. He returned for his senior season to take another run at a national championship, and that is why he has worked to become better at driving the ball to the goal while maintaining the rest of his game. "I don't think it's one specific area, where he says, 'I just want to do this,' " Duke assistant coach Steve Wojciechowski says. "He looks at all different parts of the game and says, 'I want to be good at everything.' " Let's be honest, though. Two things command attention in college player of the year voting: winning and scoring. Both Morrison's and Redick's teams figure to continue winning big. Both players figure to continue scoring big. Morrison, averaging 28.5 points, was leading the nation entering the week; Redick was second at 24.9 per game. Were each to continue producing at this pace after conference play begins, Morrison would be doing it against Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount; Redick would be doing it against Boston College and North Carolina. To account for the competitive difference, Morrison probably would need to flirt with that 43-point mark routinely. If Morrison lifts his average past 30 points and keeps it there, he will be harder to discount. Whether that would keep the Zags on their preferred course is difficult to say. They're looking for team trophies, just as much as Redick and Duke.